EgyptAlum + Alba’s USD 3 bn refinery gets int’l lender interest, CMA CGM expands Middle East footprint

International lenders have appetite for the USD 3 bn alumina refinery Egypt Aluminum (EgyptAlum) is building with Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) — set to become the largest alumina refining and production facility ever built in Egypt, EgyptAlum Managing Director Mahmoud Agour tells EnterpriseAM. EgyptAlum will fund half of the estimated cost of the project (c.USD 1.5 bn) with the financing structure open to review at a later date. “Construction and production startup should take around three years once all procedures are complete,” Agour tells us.

Alba comes to the table under pressure: The Bahraini company’s main smelter was targetedin March by Iran’s air strikes, bringing its production down to around 30%, compared to 81% before the war. The EgyptAlum project doubles as a strategic diversification play as much as a growth play — pushing upstream into alumina and into a market with cheaper power and Red Sea export access.

Egypt has been on the opposite end of that equation: With no functioning alumina refineries, Egypt imports the raw material to feed the Naga Hammadi smelter, which has historically left Egyptalum exposed to global alumina pricing and shipping cycles. Together with the Trafigura-backed smelter expansion announced earlier this month and a new 600k-ton greenfield EgyptAlum is negotiating in East Al Tafreah with Gulf and foreign investors, the Alba agreement could lift Egypt’s total aluminum production capacity to around 1.2 mtpa from roughly 300k tons today, Agour says.

AD Ports tightens Fujairah logistics network

Fujairah’s eastern corridor Hormuz bypass moving forward. AD Ports subsidiary Fujairah Terminals signed three land agreements with Fujairah International Airport, Fujairah Freezone Authority, and Al Dahra Agriculture Trading. The agreements are for a combined 130k sqm footprint aimed at expanding logistics capacity tightening movement between port, industrial, and adjacent infrastructure.

The agreements come amid a wider push to make use of Fujairah’s eastern position. Borouge and AD Ports are looking at exporting petrochemicals via Fujairah, and Adnoc is speeding up plans to develop its West-East pipeline to hedge against Hormuz bottlenecks.

The bypass is gaining more importance than ever, with Adnoc CEO Sultan Al Jaber expecting that full oil flows through Hormuz won’t return before 1H 2027, even if the regional conflict were to end now. The warning — among the bleakest recovery outlooks yet — points to how long disruption could continue rippling through supply chains.

ADSB signs EUR 320 mn Leonardo supply contract

The UAE is cementing its position as a Gulf defense hub. State-owned Edge’s Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) signed a EUR 320 mn contract with Italy’s Leonardo to supply next-gen combat systems for Kuwait’s navy, fitting the Falaj 3 missile boats under the Al Dorra program. The contract sits on top of ADSB’s AED 6.6 bn deal to build eight Falaj missile boats for Kuwait’s Defense Ministry, which was itself part of a wider AED 9 bn package agreed last summer.

Two birds with one stone: The agreement speaks to two of the UAE’s top post-war priorities — defense and localization — as Iranian drone attacks force a regional air defense rethink and the Strait of Hormuz disruption straining supply chains. Leonardo itself is eyeing full manufacturing operations in Dubai.

CMA CGM’s Syria move

French shipping giant CMA CGM is moving into Syria’s logistics sector, taking on the operation of two dry ports in the Adra Freezone in Damascus Countryside and the Aleppo Freezone under an agreement with Syria’s General Authority for Ports and Customs.

Background: Syria had landed a USD 200 mn package from the World Bank in April to restore its railway network, financing infrastructure upgrades, new locomotives and equipment, maintenance, and workforce training.

First moves

QatarEnergy is making its first move into Uruguay’s upstream sector, picking up minority stakes in three offshore exploration blocks from Shell subsidiary BG International, the state-owned company said.

The expansion drive comes as QatarEnergy works to offset losses from the Iran war: Repairs to Qatar’s LNG facilities after March’s missile strikes could take up to five years, knocking off 17% of Qatar’s LNG capacity and forcing QatarEnergy to declare force majeure on long-term contracts with buyers in Europe and Asia.